Building a basic SW&D wardrobe

Chorn

Chorn

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There are a ton of threads like this in the SF CM section; I think it is a lot easier to do something like this for CM than SW&D, which is much broader in scope, so to specify:

Provided you are living in Houston or Chicago (or another major, non-eccentric dressing city), you are 30 years old and have just quit your job as an investment banker, having made enough to retire, to become a math teacher at the high school your graduated from. You've got nothing but suits in your closet. What do you absolutely need to be well dressed without being overly fashion forward?

I've got no idea how to answer this question (no matter where I work, I'm never abandoning my ties), but I imagine a good pair of boots is a requirement, right?

Anyway, what items of clothes need to be purchased first and why?
 
Two pairs of jeans: dark raw and washed (slim straight)
White canvas shoes (converse, spring court, etc)
A couple of solid color button downs in light fabric for summer and some OCBDS and flannels for colder weathers
A few uniqlo linen shirts
V-neck merino sweaters if you have thick necks (like myself) and/or crew-neck cotton/cashmere blend sweaters (soft and not as expensive as pure cashmere)
A pair of wing-tips (AE McAllisters in walnut)
Braided belt
Padded thin strip corduroy jacket (dark chocolate color), belted mid-thigh length trench (beige), Canada Goose/Penfield down jacket.

I don't like polos, so that would be a no no for me.
 
I wear untucked dress shirts (which being fitted, are definitely not meant to be worn untucked), sleeves rolled up, with jeans, pretty much all the time if I'm not wearing a tie. In the summer this gets exchanged occasionally for 2-3 t-shirts I really like and 2-3 polos I really like. I'll occasionally wear the dress shirts with shorts from J Crew or the like and boat shoes. I'm very bad at SW&D.
 
Untucked dress shirts are perfectly fine as long as they are fitted and have the corrected length (J. Crew, BOO, Gitman, etc). Too often do I see guys wearing BB shirts untucked with some cargo shorts which is an extremely sloppy look. Boat shoes have become too ubiquitous, so I don't care much for them. I much prefer suede/penny loafers or just plain white canvas shoes. My to go summer SF SW&D shoes besides a pair of jack purcells are Alden Beefroll penny loafers in burgundy and Bottega Venetta suede loafers.
 
The problem is that my shirts are all too fitted around the waist as they are made for me and to be tucked in, so when I wear them, the outline of my belt and jeans is pretty visible.
 
The only things I intend on kopping any time soon are some linen blazers, a hopsack navy suit, and maybe some odd trousers. Perhaps another dress shirt or two. Those are my sartorial expenses until August. There will be ties purchased, I have no doubt...but ties are just a continuous flow into my wardrobe, so they don't really count.
 
If I kop anything major CE this summer, it would be a seersucker suit. Been wanting something seersucker for a couple of years now.
 
The only brand of t-shirts I have found to be comfy/durable/well-constructed is James Perse. Everything else is either too expensive or horribly made.
 
I have had a few J. Crew in the past. They don't seem to hold up well after washing & drying.
 
I tend to hand wash most of my clothes nowadays that are made with cotton. Everything goes to a local dry cleaner. I try not to wash my clothes all that often except socks, undie, and other basic garments.
 
I've taken to washing sparsely as well^. When I use a machine washer everything (baring athletic stuff) is on gentle with mild detergent. Hang dry most everything too.

SW&D, for what it's worth Chorn Chorn actually seems to be more nondescript than you're probably imagining. The two lists above of standard things are pretty right on. It usually incorporates a lot of "basics" - slim, dark denim. Grey/white/black well-fitted tshirts or sweaters for colder months. Very clean, white sneakers. Outdoorsy/military inspired outerwear. Leather.

The noticeable details come in the type of denim, accessories, the jacket/outerwear, and the shoes. Shirts are a really blank canvas (in a very similar sense to MC).
 
Because of its popularity, CP's prices have risen 2 folds in the past couple of years. I wish I didn't sell my white basketball high tops.
 
MMMs are soft, but the gum shoes tend to wear out quickly, at least the pair that I owned.

I like the Ann. D sneakers that I own, though they are made by the same people that make CPs, I think.
 
jrd said:
Just checked Google and my beloved Samba "K" sneakers (kangaroo leather) have been discontinued!!!

Got mine circa 08 and they're still going strong
Click to expand...

K-leather got politically ousted when Beckham threw a hissy fit. Apparently was keyed in on the horribly inhumane methods used to produce K-leather shoes, switched all of his signature boots to a synthetic, and the rest is history.

Nike isn't producing much in k-leather anymore either. Douchebag environmentalists ruining my soccer.

:rage-73:
 
I don't know a lot about this, but I will definitely would buy these:

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57642_1_.jpg
 
Ok, since this is my jam, and I suspect that I dress (or would if I actually wore the clothes I owned) more to Chorn's style than someone on the more fashionable end, here's what I'd start with:

2 pairs of jeans - in different dyes, so one blue and black, or two different styles of blue.
3 pairs of boots - something normal, something rugged, and something that you could pair with a sportcoat if necessary to dress up.
sneakers are for the gym, so that's out
a nice pair of casual shoes - boat, dressdown preppy, etc.
a few polo shirts
a few long sleeve button downs in prints
a few sweaters in different styles
a few v-neck t-shirts in plain black/white/gray colors
a kickass leather jacket - brown, so it'll go with almost anything you're wearing, black if you think you can pimp it out
2 casual jackets - a harrington, a military flight jacket, etc..
2 tops/outwear pieces in ridiculous colors - just things that you can use to throw caution to the wind.

With this as a base you could manage at least 15-20 outfits. More of the standard pieces - tees, tops, etc. to suit your outfit making needs.

Keys - buy piecemeal. Never buy everything at once. Never buy in bulk. Never buy unless you're not completely satisfied. What you want to do is build it up, slowly, so that these things will last you for a while.
 
Rambo said:
Keys - buy piecemeal. Never buy everything at once. Never buy in bulk. Never buy unless you're not completely satisfied. What you want to do is build it up, slowly, so that these things will last you for a while.
Click to expand...

TROOF.

:fyeah-16:
 
One thing I have learned is before buying anything, think about the approach you would like to take. Buy a few main pieces and build around them. I wasted a lot of money in the past because I didn't have a clear view mapped out.
 
Pauly Chase said:
One thing I have learned is before buying anything, think about the approach you would like to take. Buy a few main pieces and build around them. I wasted a lot of money in the past because I didn't have a clear view mapped out.
Click to expand...

To put this another way - avoid "I'll wear it someday" items.
 
Polos, a Harrington jacket, slim straight jeans, leather boots and shoes, some long sleeve OCBDs, possibly a couple of short sleeve button shirts, a v-neck fine jumper and a heavier knit jumper or cardigan, etc. Tweed and chino sport coat is a plus.
 
A pair of gray flannels is also a must if you live colder climates, extremely versatile, IMO, trumps denim. One of the first things that I bought after reading SF was a pair of unlined HF gray flannels. Still have them til this day. Keep my legs warm and toasty in the winter months.
 
I don't know if this goes here so here it goes.

My casul wardrobe is basically jeans and polos but I read on SF that some say that polos should be for golf but the golf polo is a lot different that the regular polo but whatever. So the other day I saw this pic of IanGP and I really liked it a lot and asked about the "shirt" he was wearing. He told me it is called a "henley". I don't know if the outfit it's "wrong" or classified as #menswear but I liked the look and I don't care.

0d62639c632511e3b7ee0e0b0d7ce679_8.jpg


So one of my questions is... "what in the actual fuck" (haha I love that) should I wear as casual in the tops?
 
Alright. First off, fuck SF. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing a polo (not a golf polo, those should be burned immediately) along with jeans. So long as you don't have both buttons buttoned like some kind of weirdo, then you're cool.

After that, its really up to you. T-shirt, long sleeve button down, sweater, who cares? Its all good so long as you MAKE it look good. If you walk around looking like a puto, then you're going to come off like a puto.
 
Rambo said:
Alright. First off, fuck SF. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing a polo (not a golf polo, those should be burned immediately) along with jeans. So long as you don't have both buttons buttoned like some kind of weirdo, then you're cool.

After that, its really up to you. T-shirt, long sleeve button down, sweater, who cares? Its all good so long as you MAKE it look good. If you walk around looking like a puto, then you're going to come off like a puto.
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Hahaha. So henleys are ok?

Now I just need suede shoes for my casual days.
 
Rambo said:
Henleys are great. So are boots. Your chelseas would look fantastic with a nice pair of raw denim.
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Exactly why I bought them. But I think sometimes they look too dress-y for a polo. Now raw denim… what's that? Where to buy? But I need them with big thighs.
 
Rambo said:
Alright. First off, fuck SF. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing a polo (not a golf polo, those should be burned immediately) along with jeans.
Click to expand...
I could swear that I once read that part of the Gap's (yeah, remember the Gap? once mildly relevant!) employee dress code was a prohibition on mixing denim and knits. I can see how certain stock combos can be cliche, but this seemed really restrictive to me.

A henley, to the best of my knowledge, is a ribbed t-shirt (long or short sleeve) with a reasonably long placket. Probably a breakoff from the union suit, that one piece long underwear of old. They are great for layering, but I can't get into them as an outer layer unless really going for some sort of ditch-digger look.
 
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